Cast Commentary #8

Kimbar: Okay, my writerly friends, let's start this commentary. This was quite the complicated episode to write.

Kimbar: What scene should we start with discussing? We've got a lot of good ones we could go over.

Neale: There were some pretty major emotional scenes.

Skye: So many things are introduced in this ep.

Skye: Most of them yours, Neale!

Noel: The tender moment between Arianna and Aidan.

Noel: You handled that wonderfully, Neale.

Noel: Not over the top.

Neale: Thank you, Noel.

Noel: It fit what their relationship is.

Skye: It was also a scene that I find a lot of people have problems writing well, a lover revealing a past of self-injury. I think it was very, very nicely done.

Noel: I can't stand fiction where the lovers share things early on -- more intense things than a real person would ever share -- because it just takes me out of the story.

Neale: Definitely.

Neale: To me, people are one of two ways:

Neale: Emotional upfront, but more guarded about their bodies/sexuality (not meaning orientation, but sex and being a sexual person).

Neale: Or comfortable with the physical, but take longer to open up emotionally.

Neale: Someone who is open with both is a rare and wonderful gift

Neale: I'm not sure if I've met a person like that so far in my life, though.

Noel: That's very insightful.

Noel: I like your attitude about this because it seemed like to allowed you to write Arianna in that opening scene without... well, without making her into something she's not.

Noel: She's not cold, but she's not an overly emotional, touchy/feely person.

Kimbar: I've never thought of it that way, but I definitely fit into one of those two categories, and so does everyone I know - except for the handful that I know who are guarded in both instances.

Neale: That's true, Kimbar.

Neale: Some people can definitely be guarded with both.

Neale: A lot of people, I think.

Skye: That's something I really love about Arianna, to be honest. She's not very emotional and it's okay. There's no push for her to change. To grow and feel more comfortable, yes, but this isn't the stereotypical "beautiful, emotional woman saves the hard professional by forcing her to face her emotions." Both Aidan and Arianna are allowed to be who they are without judgement.

Kimbar: Do we have anybody in this season of the Cove who's guarded about their body but open about their emotions?

Kimbar: I'm trying to think through everybody....

Noel: Celeste.

Skye: Yes. Celeste. And I think Roisin to a degree.

Kimbar: Maybe Ruth, too.

Noel: I think there's a nice mix in the Cove.

Neale: Well... definitely not my characters.

Neale: LOL - Not sure what that says about me.

Skye: It says you're the sex god of Mariel Cove. ; )

Neale: I don't know if I'd go that far =P

Noel: This episode knocks it out of the park in several scenes -- the Celeste and Tal scene; the Kitty welding scene; the Arianna harp scene; Madison and Tal have sex, etc!

Kimbar: Ruth is an interesting character that we haven't discussed much. She's a very quiet character, but we learn a couple of really amazing things about her in this episode.

Skye: Kimbar, you're absolutely right about Ruth. I was going to say this episode introduces so many elements that are important later, and I think the scene introducing Marley is a big scene for that.

Kimbar: Absolutely.

Kimbar: There's a little bit of a love triangle starting up and we haven't explored that much in these commentaries. We've got Kennedy going off the deep end, and we've talked quite a bit about that, but we've got this really close friendship developing between Ruth and Kitty, and though I don't tend to bring up my own character much because it feels a little weird to do that, I think it would be good to discuss that a bit.

Skye: Definitely, Kimbar. This is a big episode for Kitty, too. The gentle, growing relationship with Ruth pushes forward with Ruth's gift and we see Kitty sculpting for the first time.

Noel: Personally, as a reader, I saw Ruth as more of a prop.

Noel: Kitty needed her to help her see herself.

Noel: The triangle was less interesting to me than Kitty herself -- Kitty standing on her own, Kitty voicing her own needs and desires.

Noel: I know that folks seem to love the hot mess that is Kennedy, but, for me, I like Kennedy in Season 2 (what we're writing right now) and I liked Kitty more in Season 1.

Noel: How many of us have been in a bad relationship?

Noel: *raising hand*

Kimbar: *Raises hand*.

Skye: *raises both hands*

Noel: But the sex is good or whatever and we stay.

Noel: Or the emotional entanglement is there and we can't seem to find a way to untie ourselves.

Noel: Kitty had to get out.

Noel: But she was all tangled up.

Noel: Ruth was her scissors.

Neale: Sorry, I couldn't type because both of my hands were raised. Oops.

Noel: : D

Kimbar: Originally, Kitty was supposed to stay out of fear of being alone - that's what everyone in the Cove thinks, that's what Ruth thinks, and that's how it was supposed to be. I wanted Kitty to stay because she honestly loves Kennedy and doesn't want to let go of the past. My own personal bad relationship was one that dragged on for far too long because I didn't want to let go of who my ex *had* been.

Noel: Yes! I love that!

Noel: Who someone *had* been.

Noel: That is the tangle we get caught in.

Noel: A tangle of memories.

Neale: Being in love with the idea of someone - not who they actually are.

Noel: Ah, the power of being in love with an idea *sigh*

Skye: Memories and a sense of duty. Like "we've been through all this together, how can I abandon her/him?"

Neale: Absolutely.

Kimbar: Or in this case, "She needs me. Look how she breaks down without me."

Neale: That can be the toughest of all.

Neale: Obligation.

Neale: Guilt.

Kimbar: What I loved about this episode the most was getting to describe the Sculpture Garden, though.

Noel: The metal garden scene was awesome.

Kimbar: That space where Kitty goes to be alone, not affected by other people. She leaves everything at the door and just focuses on The Art.

Skye: I love the sculpture garden. Like, the idea of it as much as reading about it. I love that Kitty has this secret and this space. I think it says a lot about the strength Kitty had even from ep 1 that a lot of readers didn't see until that moment. I mean... with the way Kennedy is in season 1, that sculpture garden is a pretty bold rebellion in Kitty's quiet way.

Kimbar: She doesn't view it as rebellion, though. It saddens her to have to hide it, but she views it as a sacrifice for Kennedy's sake. In one of the earlier episodes, Kitty talks about wanting to someday show it to Kennedy and make Kennedy understand that she's the muse for all of it.

Neale: It's like a physical representation of Kitty's subconscious - the part that doesn't want to be with Kennedy. The part that can see through her lies.

Skye: Also the idea that I feel is a big part of female socialization in western culture that we must put others before ourselves all the time. For me and many, many people I know part of the guilt is the guilt of considering a breakup to save your own mental health. Like we think we need to deal with abuse or BS because someone else needs us and we're wrong to want to leave even if it saves our sanity/health/etc.

Neale: We're expected to be able to deal with our own shit while maintaining everything else in our lives - partner/girlfriend/lover​, work, school, familial obligations...

Kimbar: That whole concept is definitely very personal for me, Skye. Not from a past relationship, but a very close and unhealthy friendship.

Kimbar: It's the hardest thing to fight over with yourself.

Noel: One of the amazing things about the garden is that I think readers will see it in different ways. They'll deconstruct it to mean different things.

Kimbar: I love when readers can do that with writing, Noel.

Neale: Me, too =)

Skye: I think part of the power in Kitty is that so many people can read themselves into her and interpret her actions in ways that relate to their lives. We've proven it with all this talk about relationships! She's very relateable.

Noel: Like how different readers like different characters or even how everyone saw Arianna so differently than I did.

Kimbar: Okay, we're running out of time and we've got plenty of episode we could cover - is there anything else anybody'd like to discuss?

Skye: This is, to me, the episode where music really comes to the cove. We had a beautiful quiet moment with Roisin before, but in this episode we meet Harper, her harp and music. We meet Marley. It's the start of something I feel is really magical about the series.

Noel: You're absolutely right, Skye. This episode brought music full-force to the Cove. 
Noel: I loved how by bringing music into a prose piece we show how the Cove truly is about all types of art.

Skye: Noel, I've always wondered: was this influx of music all from your mind or a plot point from the editors? I feel like it was a brilliant element and it only gets more powerful throughout the rest of the series.

Noel: Wait... will Jennifer or Brianne read this commentary?

Noel: If not, then: Yes! It was all me!!

Kimbar: Haha. I can guarantee you 100% that Jennifer will read this commentary.

Kimbar: She has to read them all before they post.

Noel: If they read the commentaries, then, no : ( It was a decision from on high : D

Skye: Well, you handled it beautifully. My personal favorite scenes almost always involve the harp music.

Noel: I love that Rowan wrote original music!

Neale: Her lyrics were very beautiful. I really enjoyed that. I was sort of hoping she might write the music to go with them.

Noel: By infusing music into the prose, we lift it up above "just a story." "Just words."

Noel: Btw, I want chocolate.

Skye: Because chocolate also expresses more than "just words?"

Noel: That must be it.

Neale: Chocolate expresses everything.

Kimbar: Haha - I never think a good story is just words, but then, fiction is my highest passion - like Kitty with her sculptures (which is where I drew my inspiration from), but I know exactly what you mean, Noel.

Kimbar: Alright, we're out of time now. That seemed to really fly by!

Skye: This was a great ep. Lots to talk about : )

Kimbar: It seems unfair. I'd talk with you guys for hours if I could, but I guess we'll have to wait until next week with episode 9.